Bug#946406: lsb-base: Please add back fancy output support

[Guillem Jover]

Package: lsb-base
Version: 11.1.0
Severity: wishlist

Hi!

The fancy output support got completely removed some time ago, and I
guess I had forgotten I had read the changelog, and kept wondering
what had broken on an unstable system compared to a stable one.

In #670144 it is argued that this was a problem due to parallel
execution, but that would affect non-fancy output too, with
"line...(ok|failed)" style of output. So if this needs fixing it
needs to be fixed in a way that is correct for both modes anyway.

The problem with long output I guess is real, but can arguably be
considered a bug in the init script. The problem with intermixed
output on failures/warnings I guess can also be argued to be a bug,
as that should be trapped and output in a controlled way.

I'd appreciate if the code could be reintroduced, even if not enabled
by default (by providing a variable setting or similar).

Thanks,
Guillem